The International Court of Justice will announce on Friday whether it will impose an emergency order on Israel to require it to take action to prevent a possible genocide in Gaza.

The world court, based in The Hague, says it will hold a public sitting at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, in which the court’s president, Joan Donoghue of the United States, will read the court’s order.

The controversial case has sparked political divisions around the world, but South Africa’s legal team has argued that the court application is the only way to end the suffering of the people of Gaza in the devastating war that began in October.

South Africa has asked the court to issue an emergency order requiring Israel to prevent “irreparable harm” to Gaza’s people by halting its military offensive in Gaza and lifting its siege of the Palestinian territory. It argues that Israel’s siege and bombing campaign could be a violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, and it says Israel has a legal obligation under the convention to take steps to prevent a genocide.

The ruling on emergency measures will be decided by a majority of the court’s 17 judges, including two temporary judges who were appointed for this case from South Africa and Israel. The other judges, aside from Ms. Donoghue, are from a range of countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific.

We’ll see what this decision is tomorrow.